Life In Pictures

Running miles this week: 0 miles. Zip...I got nothing going. Maybe next week.

Words are great but today I'll post photos as they sum up a lot of things.

Just a few random shots...there's the picnic table at the LaHave River Yacht Club...the Goldfinch with the red eyeball, Chris and Jon with "Slow Cooking Cover" at the Yacht Club...and Chris and Jon on the Halifax waterfront - later joined by a blues harp player (a walk on...haha). Oh, and there's one of Chris holding the body of his guitar. He's at the sanding stage. Solid cherry - it will sound amazingly rich. He's working on the neck now (mahogany). This is life in Nova Scotia.

Blessed

Running this week: 0 Miles.

I’ve been too busy to talk about it but I am incredibly blessed. School is finally out and things will hopefully settle down for the summer. The last few weeks have been a blur and a rush all at once.

Chris was exempt from writing all of his Grade 8 exams again this year. Hallelujah! He made the Honour Role again too. Jonathan will enter Jr. High. He graduated from Grade 6 with a couple of nice awards including a Music Participation honour and a plaque from the Hone & School Association. Probably for being a nice kid – which he is. So, I’m proud of my boys for finishing well. It’s been long school year and we’re all pretty happy to have a break.

Did I say ‘break’. Life ramps up in summer around here. A couple months of warm weather means we maximize every waking moment. Chris and Jon have several music gigs lined up. Some sweet gigs that pay exceptionally well. This weekend, they play 3 or 4 times. I forget. We have a master calendar on the fridge at home and I really should keep up with it. I have a tough time keeping up with most everything it seems. I’m not complaining. That’s just my confession.

RunningWife and the other two kids, Sam and Ben are super. They’re growing up.

Hey, here’s a photo of the RunningWife that blows me away every time I glance at it. We were out for a drive the other night and happened upon an old quiet hillside – a field so full of daisies that I couldn’t help but think of heaven. Here she is. A flower among flowers.

Sam's Appendix

I feel much better now. 9 year old Sam was rushed by ambulance to the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax overnight Monday. He had his appendix out at lunchtime on Tuesday. It came on suddenly and was pretty stressful for all of us.

Truth is, there are lots worse things that can happen any day of the week. I am grateful that we have it so good. Thank God. Throughout the turmoil and stress we had real peace because we knew people were praying for Sam and the rest of us. Thank you.

They sure don’t keep you in the hospital for long these days. His surgery took place on Tuesday afternoon and we were checking out on Wednesday at suppertime. He’s getting stronger everyday but still hobbles around like a little old man. His back hurts. His body is still pretty tense from the operation.

The rest of us did well during the ordeal. Chris and Jon continued at school. I stayed home from work on Tuesday to be with Ben and to wait for word from Victoria.

I took Ben into work with me on Wednesday. I have a private office so he and I just goofed around. Being a 6 year old boy and hanging out with dad at a big RV dealership…well, that is being a kid in a candy store. No question. I even had him out in cruising around in the tractor.

It’s times like this when I miss running most. Troubles seem to evaporate over the course of a few k. I’m shifting into a new era these days and may have a few minutes per day to lace up again, just like old times.

There is always hope. Hope always.

Slow Cooking Cover

There's a great story behind the name of the band. I'll elaborate one of these days. They made their public debut the other night at a high school variety concert - 16 acts... These kids, (11-13) nailed CCR's "Suzy Q". They won! L-R - Jonathan, Claire, Daniel, Matthew, Chris.

More to come.

Crazy Busy

I haven’t abandoned this blog. I am just too busy to keep up on a regular basis. And, so, I will add bits and pieces when I can.
When I’m not writing at work, I’m writing bits for my radio show which I am fortunate to be able to do from home. Tech these days makes it simple. And, due to some circumstances that are not entirely clear…I’ve graduated to the morning show (7-9am) for the time being. It’s more of a natural fit for me and I’m happy to do it.

My wife Victoria celebrates a birthday today. She’s a beautiful 41. After her morning run she headed out for some groceries. While she was out I woke the kids up (6:45am) and got them started on the decorations and breakfast. It was fun. She cherishes their handmade cards and hugs more than anything from any store.

So, everybody is good at my house. Chris and Jon have a couple of gigs this week. Tomorrow night, they play with a larger 6 piece band called “Slow Cookin Cover”. They play 70’s rock tunes like Hotel California, Suzy Q, Don’t Look Back, you know… Chris plays lead guitar. Jonny hammers the 5-string electric bass. Very cool…with a girl singer named Claire! Their music teacher is the band coach and hand-picked the kids for this group. They are 11 – 13…and tight for a bunch of kids. Got their own sound gear…and good instruments. Chris has been playing a vintage Fender Strat – US model. Sweet. They’ll play a full set at The Mahone Bay Classic Boat Festival in July. I’ll take some band pics and post them late this week. Chris and Jon will play as a duo at a Highland Dance Recital this week too. There are lots of opportunities for them. Last weekend, they played at a little community hall in the Annapolis Valley and received a huge standing ovation. I shed a tear. It was amazing.





I had to add the pie pic. So maritime. This event was a fund-raiser for the little baptist church in Burlington, NS - raising money for a piece of sound equipment. There are only 15 members in the church...pretty amazing that they pulled off this larger community event. People came from all over!

So, I’ll keep you in the loop when I can. Thanks for stopping by.

Radio Gig

My family is away for the weekend so I have an unusual and welcome bit time on my hands. V and the boys are in New Brunswick for a couple of big birthday celebrations. Her mom turns 87 and her aunt turns 100. Amazing.

I’m not sure what I’ll do apart from raking up the backyard and maybe bagging some dead leaves that have collected over the winter. One thing’s for certain, I will record some more radio bits. I’ve been hosting a little daily one hour show that runs on 3 stations in 3 provinces here in the maritimes. Format is Christian – which is not so strange for me, though I’ve been out of radio for 10 years. It all feels a little strange and disconnected because I don’t actually commute to the station. I produce the show from home and upload it. It’s coming along fine.

It’s easier than you might think and more difficult than you could imagine. Let’s leave it at that for now. I still have my day job. You can listen online if you care to at www.cjlufm.com  My bit is music driven and airs 4:30-5:30 Atlantic Time.  

Have a great weekend.

Progress

Until I completely stop I deem my actions to be progress of some sort. I've got to. No complaints. Real quick - sorry for disappearing into thin air. I've taken on more projects and my time is all but used up. I'm probably too busy for my own good and my family may, in fact, be suffering due to my various commitments. That's a whole other can of worms.

Everyone is still good and healthy at my house. I've slowed my running to a crawl (still have a bit of forward momentum). V runs every day still - the kids are active on their bikes and the music continues on all fronts. The summer is filling up with gigs. Chris and Jon have been doing some different projects with some other players. They've been playing with Contra Bands for dances and have formed a new band with a bunch of other young prodigies playing 70's rock covers. A cool change for them.

I've gone and got involved in radio again- writing, voicing and producing a 1 hour syndicated show that airs on 3 stations. More details on that to come. Hmmm. Fun and time consuming.

I'll try and show up here on a more regular basis. Meantime, here are a few recent photos. It's good to live by the ocean.